Ah yes, that particular first song DOES sound a bit like the opening to Bowie's Jean Genie...but it's not!

Anyway, I'm more interested in the complete list of tunes played in the interim, and specifically those played in Chicago and Hampton. (I'm guessing it was the same at nearly all arena stops, and probably the stadium stops as well.) Surely, with the well-documented Hampton show, there is a recording of all the interim downtime between Thorogood and the Stones. THAT's what I want!!! And I suppose this falls into the category of, well, obsessive silly person. But isn't that true of any self-respecting IORR-er???

I talked to a woman who saw Thorogood and Geils as the openers who said, "I couldn't WAIT for the Stones to come out." She thought those two openers were dull as dishwater. But that's one woman's opinion.

Lonesome George was as expected he was on and had many hits prior, J Geils was OK and a little boring imo not that good. but at that time J Geils really did not have any major hits under their belt so you really had to be a fan of them to really apreciate them.it was not until MTV came on that J Geils hit it big a couple years later.
It's weird sometimes (opinions) like when I saw Sammy Hager open for Boston in 2/79 on Bostons 2nd tour Boston was boring even though they had mega hits and sound imo Sammy rocked the house and blew away the headliner.

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I talked to a woman who saw Thorogood and Geils as the openers who said, "I couldn't WAIT for the Stones to come out." She thought those two openers were dull as dishwater. But that's one woman's opinion.

That is a fair assessment because as I remember (and barely with one eye open), both acts were really not stoking the interest of the attendees. People were walking around down on the field coming and going at ease. I myself being a huge J. Geils fan, consider their performance to be average, then again J. Geils is not a good stadium band at all.

It should be noted that as with any Stones show, as most here already know, the anticipation of the arrival of the Stones minimizes ANY opening act. It is very hard to get into any warmup group while awaiting the big show. Plus, I really believe the opening acts play with lower volumes to control the vibe. Add in the confined stage areas to work in.

QuoteTitle5Take1
I talked to a woman who saw Thorogood and Geils as the openers who said, "I couldn't WAIT for the Stones to come out." She thought those two openers were dull as dishwater. But that's one woman's opinion.

That is a fair assessment because as I remember (and barely with one eye open), both acts were really not stoking the interest of the attendees. People were walking around down on the field coming and going at ease. I myself being a huge J. Geils fan, consider their performance to be average, then again J. Geils is not a good stadium band at all.

It should be noted that as with any Stones show, as most here already know, the anticipation of the arrival of the Stones minimizes ANY opening act. It is very hard to get into any warmup group while awaiting the big show. Plus, I really believe the opening acts play with lower volumes to control the vibe. Add in the confined stage areas to work in.

True. Even very good bands face being practically ignored if opening for the Stones and often play to nearly empty stadiums as fans often don't care about getting to their seats until time for the Stones. Also - you mentioned lower volume levels - and I could be wrong, but I've heard the in most cases, the PA is set up to the Stones EQ settings, etc, and the opening acts aren't allowed to change anything to suit their own sound, which often makes them sound terrible. I'll never forget feeling kind of sorry for Alanis Morrisette turning in a very good performance before the Stones at Giants Stadium in '05 to what looked like a 90% empty field..and I'm sure she couldn't see whoever was in the stands. I also well remember Journey beeing booed and flipped off for stating as they opened for the Stones in '81 that their new album sales had made them "the number 1 band in America!" Didn't go down well with a Stones crowd.

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Lonesome George was as expected he was on and had many hits prior, J Geils was OK and a little boring imo not that good. but at that time J Geils really did not have any major hits under their belt so you really had to be a fan of them to really apreciate them.it was not until MTV came on that J Geils hit it big a couple years later.
It's weird sometimes (opinions) like when I saw Sammy Hager open for Boston in 2/79 on Bostons 2nd tour Boston was boring even though they had mega hits and sound imo Sammy rocked the house and blew away the headliner.

I think I remember JGeils differently. I was down in NO for the 81 gig, and the city was completely overrun by Stones fever and partying. But "Centerfold" was a huge hit at the time and sounding from many players.

Like Stonesdan60 says - it's a lousy gig opening for the Stones. I have seen countless, very good bands come off sounding just awful on a Stones stage.

You may be right about them with Centerfold around the same time frame but I think that album was not released until Oct 25 1981 and I dont recall J geiles performing it prior at my show but then again I was Stoned.mtv had a killer video for centerfold with Martha Quinn.

She (mentioned above) also related to me about the Geils and Thorogood vs Stones lineup, "As a young teen, it was my first stadium concert. I liked Geils and Thorogood but was bored with them, and I kept thinking, `These openers are: 1) Singer; 2) Guitars; 3) Bass; 4) Drummer. Which is exactly what the Stones are, too! I got it into my head during those two openers that that combination as a rule probably wasn't that workable. It was inherently boring. It was a con that rock concerts could be great. Maybe I'd better stick to studio albums and going to movies. How could the Stones be that different with the same "recipe" as the openers?' And then the Stones came out, and it was such an electric rush. It was a whole different universe of performing. The Stone were GREAT. And I wasn't bored for a second after they came out. I enjoy now just thinking about it."

Those comments made me think of Bill Wyman's comments about inviting Peter O'Toole to a show:

BILL WYMAN: "Once in Los Angeles, I invited Peter O'Toole to come to one of our shows and he was absolutely astounded. He said he'd never seen or experienced any energy or any moment in his life that he'd felt at that concert. He said it was like the entry of the gladiators. I had to ask him, `But don't you feel the same thing knowing you are seen by millions of people in the movies?' `No,' he said. `you don't get that energy feedback, you don't get that amazing spectacle.' He was astounded by it. But me? I don't always think about it much."
From the book The Rolling Stones, by Philip Kamin & Peter Goddard.